Chapter 347: Chapter 347 Blind Date Scene_1
Deep into the night, Aiden had made a round on the rooftop, using night vision to confirm the situation around the mansion.
No one was present—it didn’t look like action would be taken tonight... at least, not right now.
Joey Lawson wielded the authority of "Void’s Domain," which allowed him to pass through walls and traps easily like Qiqimora, and of course, he could use the "All Things" aspect of material to break through barriers forcibly. However, as long as he couldn’t erase his presence like Qiqimora, he should find it quite difficult to enter the house unnoticed.
It was time to make contact with the coven of witches.
Having confirmed temporary safety, he leaned against the chimney, using it as cover to sit down, and then took out the credential of the Great Witch to call out Abigail’s name.
Abigail’s response came quickly, "Your Excellency, the frequency of your contacts has become frequent."
"Indeed..." Aiden laughed, "Sorry for contacting you at this time, did I disturb your rest?"
"No, with the ’Life’ authority, I actually don’t need sleep," Abigail answered calmly, "Whom do you seek this time? Me, or Qiqimora?"
Having interacted with Aiden for some time, Abigail could somewhat guess the purpose behind Aiden’s contacts each time.
Seeing this, Aiden did not attempt to hide it further, "I have information I hope to ask Qiqimora to gather, I wonder if..."
Abigail didn’t reply, but after just a one-second delay, Aiden saw the credential’s mist churn out, rapidly enveloping him.
Soon he arrived in the projected space of Abigail, who sat at the end of a long table; this time he took the seat on Abigail’s right, which used to be Lamia’s spot.
Across from him, the figure of Qiqimora was vaguely visible among the swirling mist.
"Actually asking for me again? The Judge seems very enthusiastic lately." Qiqimora greeted Aiden even before she fully materialized.
"Then, shall we have a good chat while I... step aside?" Abigail offered a considerate suggestion.
"What are you doing, Abigail? As long as you don’t break the spell, you can still hear the conversation even if the projection disappears," Qiqimora glanced at her, "If you break the spell, then the whole projection is gone."
"Don’t worry, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear anything," Abigail coolly responded, "At least if the projection is gone, it shouldn’t disturb your... ambiance."
"Stop joking, it sounds like you’re implying this is like matchmaking!"
"Oh? Is it not?" Abigail feigned surprise.
"Of course not! Haven’t you also had one-on-one meetings with this man?" Qiqimora protested, "Why do you keep teasing me lately?"
Aiden glanced back and forth between the two Great Witches who had started to bicker, wisely choosing to keep quiet for the moment.
"Alright then, no more jokes," Abigail waved her hand dismissively, "Honestly, as long as you don’t harm the coven, I won’t meddle in whatever private dealings... I mean, private transactions you have."
"Mind your words, weren’t you not joking anymore?" Qiqimora expressed dissatisfaction.
"But bringing that back up, while the coven isn’t a strict organization, we do have basic rules..." Abigail’s voice grew heavier, "I hope we don’t come into conflict over certain ’trivial matters’."
Aiden caught Abigail’s meaning; she knew he had some sort of dealings with Qiqimora, but clearly Qiqimora hadn’t told her the contents of their transaction.
This was Abigail’s warning, hoping that they wouldn’t privately endanger the organization of the "coven of witches," otherwise with her position, she would not overlook it.
"Don’t worry, Abigail, I know where the line is," Qiqimora responded.
"I’m obviously not about to start being hostile with you at the moment; on the contrary, there’s much that I need from you. You can be at ease," Aiden looked at Abigail, "I’m contacting you this time to ask for a favor."
"What trouble have you got yourself into now?" Qiqimora inquired.
"I would like to start by asking if you’ve heard of Joey Lawson?" Aiden posed the question.
"Joey Lawson..." Qiqimora mused aloud, seemingly unable to recall immediately.
"I have no impression of that name," Abigail, on the other hand, quickly gave her answer.
"He’s a Heretic Inquisitor from Nedland, in his thirties. He was once a wizard, and... he also possesses the divine words of ’Material’ and ’Void’," Aiden provided more details, hoping to jog their memories.
Even though Aiden had gleaned fairly specific intelligence from Sophie, he felt it necessary to try and probe further.
A male wizard of reasonable caliber, capable of acquiring divine word powers—given the reach of the coven in that world, they might know something of him.
With this reminder, Qiqimora seemed to have some recollection, "The powers of ’All Things’ and ’Void’s Domain’?"
"You know of him?"
"Know of him, he participated in the coven meetings more than a decade ago," Qiqimora answered, "He wasn’t using this name at the time, though."
"Oh, it’s him," Abigail remembered as well.
"The coven of witches!?" Aiden was stunned, "Are you... sure about this?"
"What’s so strange about that? Changing gender is no issue at all for a wizard adept in Magic Potion and life alchemy; there are many ’witches’ in the coven who were originally male," Qiqimora explained.
"Back then, the coven didn’t bar men from attending; it’s just that women greatly outnumbered men, which is why it came to be called ’the coven of witches’," Abigail stated, "But later on, to avoid unnecessary troubles, it became customary for only women to participate."
In this world, black magic practitioners were predominantly female because women had a significant advantage over men in spirit sensitivity and mediumship, and the risks of delving into higher black magic were also much lower. Some male practitioners even chose to outright change their gender through Magic Potion, life alchemy, or demonic pacts during their practice of black magic, resulting in a far higher number of witches compared to wizards.
In contrast, Heretic Inquisitors, who primarily relied on firearms and similar weapons for combat, were mostly male.
"So before, had he been chosen by you?" Aiden looked towards Abigail.
If the coven at the time did not forbid male participation, a male wizard capable of interacting with an authority would have likely been recognized by Abigail for his strength and scholarly achievements.
"No, he was expelled from the coven not two years after joining," Abigail revealed.
"Why?"
"Because he, killed other witches from the coven," Abigail said somberly.
